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This festive and chewy homemade torrone Italian nut nougat brings old-world charm into your kitchen. Whether you’re preparing for the holidays or making a sweet gift-worthy treat, this nougat is a satisfying project. It combines honey, nuts and citrus in a fluffy, sticky base, layered with crisp wafer sheets for a clean finish. Customize it with your favorite roasted nuts and enjoy the perfect balance of creamy and crunchy textures in every bite.
Homemade torrone Italian nut nougat is a chewy treat filled with toasted nuts, sweetened with honey and sugar, and finished between crisp wafer sheets.
Also try berry cheesecake tart, lemon mascarpone cake, puffed wheat squares, almond cake, choc hazelnut torrone, or Boston cream poke cake.
Why You’ll Love It
No special equipment: You only need basic kitchen tools to make this classic.
Customizable mix-ins: Choose from pistachios, almonds or hazelnuts, or use some of each.
Perfect for gifting: Wrap pieces for the holidays or special occasions. This is a gift everyone will love!
Naturally gluten free: No flour makes this candy ideal for gluten-free diets.
Torrone Nut Nougat Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Wafer paper: Keeps the nougat from sticking and adds a smooth finish.
Honey: Sweetens and helps create the sticky candy base.
Granulated sugar: Adds structure and balances the honey.
Egg whites: Whipped to soft peaks, they give the nougat a fluffy consistency.
Vanilla extract: Enhances the overall flavor with warm, rich notes.
Lemon zest: Brightens the nougat and balances the sweetness.
Nuts: Use roasted almonds, pistachios or hazelnuts for crunch and flavor.
How to Make Italian Nut Nougat
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Prepare the pan: Line an 8×8 dish with plastic wrap and one piece of wafer paper.
Whip the egg whites: Beat to soft peaks with a dash of salt and set aside.
Heat the syrup: In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat honey and sugar until it reaches 300 degrees F.
Combine with egg whites: Slowly stream hot syrup into egg whites while whipping, then mix in vanilla and lemon zest.
Add the nuts: Stir in the roasted nuts once the mixture cools slightly.
Fill the pan: Spread nougat over the bottom wafer, top with the second sheet and press flat.
Cool and cut: Let the nougat set at room temperature, then slice into pieces.
Substitutions and Variations
Change the nuts: Swap almonds or pistachios for cashews or macadamias.
Use flavored extracts: Try almond or orange extract instead of vanilla.
Play with colors: You could blend pink food coloring into half the nougat mixture or experiment with green and red food colorings for a Christmas theme.
Lemon zest: Use orange zest or lime zest instead.
Add dried fruit: Mix in chopped dried apricots or cranberries for extra chew.
Serving Suggestions
With other sweet treats: You might also like Christmas tree cupcakes, reindeer Rolo pretzels or Christmas marshmallow pops.
With a festive drink: Serve up these Santa hat cocktails or maybe some Grinch green hot chocolate.
How to Store Italian Nut Torrone
Store: Keep it in an airtight container between 60°F and 70°F. It should keep for about 2 weeks.
Freeze: I haven’t tried freezing it but I think it might change the flavor or texture.
Top Tips
Use a candy thermometer: This ensures your syrup hits the right stage.
Work quickly: Nougat thickens fast once it cools.
Grease your spatula: A lightly oiled utensil helps spread the nougat evenly.
Press evenly: Use a ramekin or cup to flatten the top without sticking.
Homemade Torrone Italian Nut Nougat FAQs
Also known as rice paper or nougat paper, wafer paper is made with starch from rice or potatoes. A sheet of wafer paper will be stiff and slightly see-through. This edible paper is safe to eat and doesn’t have much of a flavor so you can use it in dessert recipes. You’ve probably had wafer paper if you’ve had traditional macaroons. It’s sometimes used to decorate fancy cakes, perhaps shaped into pretty edible petals and assembled to look like a flower, for example. In this recipe, it helps keep moisture out.
Yes, but the candy may stick to the pan or cutting board.
Until soft peaks form. They should be fluffy but not dry or stiff.
Lighter honey keeps the color pale and lets the other flavors shine.
You can, though a stand mixer is easier for handling hot syrup.
Traditional Italian Nougat Recipe
Homemade Torrone Italian Nut Nougat
Equipment
- Baking Dish 8- or 9-Inch Square
- Kitchen Scissors
- Pot Large and Heavy-Bottomed
Ingredients
- 2 Sheets wafer paper, cut to fit baking pan
- 12 Ounces honey, I used pale acacia honey for a light-colored result
- 1 ⅔ Cups granulated sugar
- 3 egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 Pinch salt
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, I used clear for a light-colored result
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 3 Cups nuts, roasted almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, or pecans
Instructions
- Prepare a 9-inch square baking dish (or similar size) by lining it with plastic wrap, ensuring the bottom and sides are fully covered. Cut both sheets of wafer paper to fit the size of your baking dish. Place one sheet of the wafer paper into the bottom of the dish, set the other piece aside for later.
- Take the room temperature egg whites and beat them with a dash of salt in a stand mixer until you achieve soft peaks. Keep them in the stand mixer for later.
- Take a medium to large sized heavy-bottomed pot, and add your honey and sugar in. Stir this mixture on medium heat until it has reached 300 degrees F.
- Once your sugar mixture has reached 300 degrees, remove from heat and immediately bring it over to the stand mixer.
- With the mixer on medium high stream in about 3 Tablespoons of the hot sugar mixture, let it fully combine with the egg whites and whip for a few moments before slowly streaming in the remaining sugar mixture.
- Add in the lemon zest and vanilla extract. Pay close attention to how thick the mixture is getting as it cools, continue to whip it until the sides of the bowl are cool enough to keep your hand on it for 10 seconds. It takes about 30 seconds to cool down.
- When this happens, add in the nuts and give it one good mix to combine then shut it off. If the mixture is getting too thick before the bowl is cool enough to keep your hand on it, add the nuts in and stop mixing at any point.
- Working quickly, pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish, on top of the wafer paper. Gently spread as evenly as possible. You can use a lightly greased spatula to spread the nougat if needed.
- Top the nougat with the second wafer paper sheet. Gently press everything down tightly and flat, trying to get as flat and level of a top as you can – you can use the bottom of a cup or ramekin to help smooth it out if needed.
- Let cool at room temperature.
- When ready, carefully turn the torrone out onto a cutting board. Remove the plastic wrap and use a long serrated knife to cut the torrone into desired sizes.
Notes
Work quickly: Nougat thickens fast once it cools.
Grease your spatula: A lightly oiled utensil helps spread the nougat evenly.
Press evenly: Use a ramekin or cup to flatten the top without sticking.
Nutrition
Homemade torrone Italian nut nougat is a chewy, nut-filled Christmas candy with roasted nuts, a bright citrus flavor and a soft bite. Whether you’re making it for the holidays or just love traditional sweets, this recipe is easy to follow and highly customizable. Once you try homemade torrone, it’s sure to become part of your yearly tradition. Keep it simple or experiment with mix-ins to make it your own, and enjoy a nostalgic favorite that’s worth the effort.
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
The flavor was perfect, but too soft for me. Next time I am going to cook it to the higher temperature.
Great recipe!
Sounds good!
Came out great. Tastes just like the Torrone i used to buy.
Thought my KitchenAid stand mixer was going to give up…it was fine though.
I would cook it longer to make it more stiff. Looking forward to these treats!
Thanks for the recipe.
You’re welcome, hope you enjoy it!
Everything goes well. The cool down part until the bowl is cool for 10 seconds is more like 30-40 min. I think a proper time would be helpful otherwise it will melt.
Hi, the recipe says to cool it until you can keep your hand on the bowl for 10 seconds, not to cool it for 10 seconds. But I’ll add your timing to the recipe so people know how long it’ll take. I hope yours came out delicious.
This was easy enough to make but it did not work. After complete cooling it’s still really soft and sticky. Not edible at all. No way I could cut it it’s way too soft like heated marshmallows. What happened? I feel like I waisted a lot of expensive ingredients. 3 cups of nuts and 12 ounces of honey is probably close to $25.
It sounds like there are a few potential issues that could have caused your torrone to turn out too soft and sticky. Here are some suggestions:
Humidity: High humidity can affect the texture of the nougat, causing it to remain soft even after reaching the correct temperature.
Cooking temperature and beating time: Nougat can be tricky to make, and the cooking temperature and beating time must be precisely right. The mixer should be running long enough that it sounds like it’s about to give out – that’s when you know it’s about right. Beat the mixture until it is very, very thickened before scraping it out of the bowl.
Here are some ideas for soft nougat:
Drying out the mixture: You could try putting the pan of torrone in a low oven (175°F) for about two hours. This may help the mixture dry out and become firm enough to slice after cooling.
Dipping in chocolate: I have heard that too-soft nougat is perfect for dipping in chocolate, which could be a tasty way to salvage the batch.
Tried it with a silicone candy bar mold sprayed lightly with oil will make 24 candy bars had to work fast , put rice paper on top to smooth and press into mold. After cooling put into the freezer for about 20 minutes to release easier from the mold. Then once out of mold trimmed the bottom edge for a clean bar look.
Thanks for this info! I will have to try this way one day too
Mine for some reason is like a light brown / beige color how is yours so white ? I used regular honey and granulated sugar
I used acacia honey and extra-light (almost clear) vanilla extract for a light result.
You could also have had the temperature too hot or cooked it to long to cause some carmelization.
Can you use pasteurized egg whites from a carton?
Yes you can use the liquid ones in a carton or even reconstituted powdered egg whites for torrone. I also find the egg whites from a carton are great for making really stable meringues!
Wondering if I can use a silicon candy bar mold instead of edible paper?
I haven’t tried this myself, so I’d like to know how it comes out! If you do try the candy bar mold, grease it very lightly first.
Hello, may I ask if you can subscribe granulated sugar for brown or cane sugar please? Thank you looking forward to making this.
Yes you can. It will add a subtle caramel flavor and make the torrone a bit darker in color.